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Portuguese teacher dies in horrific Panama selfie fall

Friends of a Portuguese teacher, who tragically died after plummeting 27 storeys to her death from a building in Panama’s capital, have rushed to comfort the woman’s mother, who has now lost two children in as many years.

Forty-four year old Sandra Manuela da Costa Macedo, a mother-of-two, died after toppling over the balcony of a 27th-floor apartment in a building in Panama City, from a height of around 70 metres.The horrific incident happened last Friday as Ms. Macedo leaned on the railings of a balcony, believed to be in the Luxor Tower Panama building in the El Cangrejo neighbourhood, as she tried to take a selfie.The woman, a PE teacher originally from Vila das Aves, Santo Tirso, is understood to have been working in Panama. Authorities are investigating the circumstances behind the fall, which reports suggest point towards a strong gust of wind having caused the fatal imbalance. The family is pushing for the Portuguese woman’s body to be released by Panama authorities to begin the process of being transferred back to Portugal. Sandra is understood to have recently returned from a trip to Spain with her boyfriend, with whom she lived in Panama, just a day before the fatal accident.The chilling incident was caught on camera by local builders on a nearby site, who had tried to warn her of the danger. The sickening footage has since gone viral on social media.The Portuguese embassy in Panama notified the victim’s family in Portugal shortly after she was identified by the authorities. The incident is being accompanied by the State Secretary for Portuguese Communities. Here in Portugal, friends have united to support Ms. Macedo’s mother, who has now lost two children in as many years after her son died of a heart attack. Her husband is also bed-bound after suffering a stroke following their son’s death.A study released earlier this month showed that between 2011 and 2017, at least 259 people have died while trying to take a selfie in dangerous situations.This was revealed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, in an article published by the Journal of Family. India tops the list of selfie-fatalities.In the wake of the tragic incident, Panama’s Fire Service published a warning on its official Twitter account, which warned: “Don’t risk your life for a selfie. It’s more important to lose a minute in life than your life in a minute”.